#挑战30天在头条写日记 #
The study of women's history is an important topic in history, sociology and anthropology, especially after the introduction of gender theory, which has greatly promoted the development of Chinese women's history research. In recent decades, the research topics of women/gender history in Shang Zhou have also been greatly expanded, including the surname system, marriage system, gender system, female identity, role, status, social activities, social relations, as well as gender composition, gender differences, gender relations, and other aspects. Research tends to be refined, and microscopic and case studies are increasing with the emergence of new materials. However, compared with the Qin and Han dynasties, the research on women's history of Shang and Zhou is obviously weak, the research perspective and scope are relatively narrow, and it is trapped in the solidification status quo of production model results, which requires the broadening of research horizons and the transformation of angles. The following is a few personal views on the situation of related research.
I. Reflection on the current situation of research on women's history in Shang Zhou
Although the study of women's history in Shang Zhou has made considerable progress in recent decades, the existing problems cannot be ignored, and the following points are more prominent.
1. The phenomenon of discipline fragmentation is serious. Compared with the Qin and Han dynasties, the study of pre-Qin history relied more on archaeological data, and the same is true for women's history research. However, "in China, due to the long-term failure of professional education, the two disciplines of history and archaeology have not been integrated and integrated, resulting in a lack of deep understanding between each other, and the disciplinary distinction has been overemphasized psychologically, which has also become an obstacle to in-depth exchanges with each other" (Zhu Fenghan, "Enlightenment from Sixty Years of Exploration of Xia Cultural Archaeology", Historical Research, No. 1, 2019). As a result, archaeologists mostly focus on archaeological physical materials (remains, relics and relics, etc.), while historians focus on the interpretation of documentary materials (including ancient documents, unearthed ancient text materials such as oracle bones, golden texts, simple books, pottery texts, etc.), and the separation between history (mainly refers to documentary historiography) and archaeology is very obvious in the study of Shang and Zhou history. To some extent, this hindered the further in-depth study of women's history in Shang Zhou. Therefore, it is necessary to integrate history and archaeology, realize the comprehensive utilization of resources, maximize the value of existing historical materials, and explore important historical issues.
Scholars of women's history in Shang Zhou have been trying to combine the two. Outstanding achievements such as Lin Jialin's Women in the Tomb of Anyang Yin: Royal Women, Wives, Mothers, Military Generals and Slaves (Lin Jialin and Sun Yan, eds., Gender Studies and Chinese Archaeology, Science Press, 2006), which mainly explores the identity, role and status of women in the Shang Dynasty, based on the materials of women's tombs excavated in the Anyang Yin Tomb, combined with oracle bones, women in traditional literature and legendary imperial consorts. Then there is Chen Zhaorong's "Gender, Identity and Wealth: Observations from Shang and Zhou Bronzes and Burial Relics" (edited by Li Zhende, New Treatise on Chinese History (Gender History Volume), Lianjing Publishing Co., Ltd., 2009), using Shang Zhou bronzes and burial relics, combined with heirloom documents and bronze inscriptions, taking Gushihou Gudui No. 1 Tomb as the starting point, from the perspective of reflecting gender in the tomb, the factors affecting the richness of burial products, women's acceptance of bronzes and the production of bronzes, etc., this paper discusses gender. The relationship between identity and wealth, the integration of historical and archaeological disciplines, has been significantly reflected. It's a pity that there are not many such research results.
2. Single perspective and patterned writing. Taking archaeological physical data as an example, the current academic research on women/gender history of Shang Zhou is still mostly limited to burial materials. This is due to the fact that compared with other archaeological physical materials of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, the tomb materials are more abundant, and the materials provided are more abundant, and they are easier to use. In his "Preface" to Gender Studies and Chinese Archaeology, Li Boqian pointed out that burials are good materials for studying gender issues, but at the same time, sufficient attention should be paid to relics and relics such as residential sites, production tools, living utensils, ceremonial guards, and ornaments. The information about gender and its relationships revealed in these materials may be more direct and critical to researchers. From this point of view, Chen Fangmei's "New Clues of Gender Research on Bronzes in Jinhou Cemetery" (Shanghai Museum, ed., "Proceedings of the International Symposium on Bronzes Unearthed in Jinhou Cemetery", Shanghai Calligraphy and Painting Press, 2002) is commendable, although it is a discussion of burial materials, it opens up a different way, from the perspective of art history, synthesizes inscriptions and other cultural relics, and discusses the possibility of some rare new bronze artifacts and gender relations, such as copper three-legged urns, square seat barrels and human-shaped foot climbing dragon boxes. It explores new information that female tomb owners may present as patrons of bronze objects or as one of the important sexes of burial, providing new clues for gender research. Some of the results of gender archaeology in prehistoric times are also worth learning. For example, Qiao Yu's analysis of gender related objects in Xinglongwa cultural houses in "Gender Issues Reflected in the Remains of Xinglongwa Cultural Houses" (Northern Cultural Relics, No. 4, 2014) is a new perspective worthy of attention.
The phenomenon of stereotypical writing in the study of women's history in Shang Zhou is also serious. Or take the burial materials as an example. As mentioned earlier, tombs are more used materials in the study of women's/gender history in Shang Zhou, but from the current results, the use of tomb materials and research perspectives are relatively single, the analysis and argument are more coarse, and more and more patterned, the same perspective, another tomb is a new article, many conclusions are even very similar. As Li Boqian pointed out in the "Preamble" of the previous exhibition, the attitudes and concepts towards men and women reflected in burial customs and the reconstruction of their social relations and roles before their lives through the burial methods of men and women are divided into two different levels and two different steps. The use of burial materials to study gender issues should not only clarify the gender and age of the tomb owner and its relationship with the combination and placement of the burial objects, but also consider the location and distribution of the tomb and the relationship between the burial and the burial. From this perspective, Lin Yongchang's "A Preliminary Study on the Gender Differences Seen in the Buries of the Jin State in the Western Zhou Dynasty" (Ancient Civilizations (Volume 7), Cultural Relics Press, 2008) and Sun Xiaopeng's "Gender Archaeology Research on Shigushan Cemetery" (Three Generations of Archaeology (7), Science Press, 2017) better practice Li Boqian's thinking. Lin Wen sorted out the gender differences reflected in the burial objects and other aspects of the tombs in the Jin State cemetery from the perspectives of rank, age and cemetery space, and analyzed the reasons for the differences. Sun Wen analyzed the M3 and M4 of Baoji Shigushan from the shape of the tomb, the burial products, the placement of the burial goods, and the inscriptions, and discussed the commonalities and differences between the two tombs and the characteristics of the tombs of both sexes. The same analysis of burial materials, but these two articles are more comprehensive and detailed, so the conclusions drawn are more credible. Another example is Wang Jianwen and Zhang Tongxin, "Gender Research in Burial Customs: A Case Study of the Jia Lake Site" (Sichuan Cultural Relics, No. 6, 2008), combined with modern epidemiological and ethnological materials, to review the disease and gender relationship between the main bones of the tomb owners in the Jiahu tomb, and believe that the reason for the disparity in the prevalence rate between men and women is due to the different work they do. The abundance of burial objects for patients with osteoarthritis is much higher than the average for the entire cemetery, probably due to their hard work, but this is limited to the middle class of Jiahu society. Although it is a relevant achievement of the prehistoric period, it has a unique perspective and is worth learning. In contrast, research on women's history in Shang Zhou is weak.
3. Simplification of historical interpretation. Modern scholars have many ways to obtain new materials and quickly, often as soon as the materials are published, research articles are also flocking to them. This is a good sign and reflects the vigorous vitality of scholarship. However, it cannot be ignored that due to the different disciplinary backgrounds and the amount of materials mastered, some works have too simple understanding of the materials, or even have different degrees of misinterpretation.
Take archaeological physical data as an example. Xu Zhuoyun pointed out in the "Preface" to Gender Studies and Chinese Archaeology that in archaeological reports, the spinning wheel used by women with burials was used as a tool, and the spinning wheel was used as the basis for determining the sex of the tomb owner. Traditional Chinese society does have a division of labor between men and women, but men also commonly use fibers to rub ropes, such as making fish nets, animal nets, reins, and heads. Therefore, at the sight of the spinning wheel, it seems that the production profession of women is one-size-fits-all and arbitrary. The pottery spinning wheel burial products unearthed in Gudui No. 1 Tomb of Gushi Hou (3 men and 4 women buried with the spinning wheel) prove the correctness of Xu Zhuoyun's view. The stone axes, fish bladders, bone flakes, etc. buried in the women's tombs in the Jia Lake site, as well as the rich burial objects (especially weapons) in the tomb of the women in Anyang Yinxu, also remind us that the full extraction of gender-related information contained in archaeological physical materials needs to be carried out under comprehensive investigation and comparison of relevant materials, so that the understanding and interpretation of the data can be more scientific and credible.
The same is true of the literature. Chinese ancient texts have preserved a wealth of ancient historical legends about women, but these legends are inconsistent, true and false, and need to be carefully examined by historians. Neither rejection nor blind faith. For the unearthed ancient text materials, due to the long age, it is also necessary to interpret carefully. For those important unearthed new materials that are controversial, it is necessary to synthesize other materials for in-depth and detailed analysis and research. Take two Mengji pots unearthed in M16 of the Eguo cemetery in Nanyang Xiayupu as an example, which is an important material for discussing marriage and family names in Eguo. Some scholars believe that Xia Jipu's E, most likely the surname Ji; Some scholars believe that this is a concubine made by Ehou for the marriage of a woman with a different surname. The Eguo of Xiajiepu Cemetery was gradually developed by King Li of Zhou after he destroyed the Eguo in the area of present-day Suizhou, and moved some of the Eguo remnants to the area around Nanyang for resettlement and supervision. This controversy still exists. But the problem is actually not so simple, there is still a gap between the Eguo and Xia Yupu Eguo in the area of Suizhou Anju, and the materials cannot be filled at present. In addition, there are several records of "E" in the literature, and what is the relationship between them? These issues need to be clarified.
II. Future prospects of Shang Zhou women's history research
The question of reflection is to promote scholars to improve relevant discussions, and how to promote the study of women's history of Shang and Zhou under the new academic conditions is an issue that needs attention.
1. Discipline integration and full use of new materials. The importance of making full use of new materials from archaeological excavations to study the history of Shang and Zhou women is undeniable. Taking the history of women in the two weeks as an example, the newly seen Zongren instruments not only supplement the examples of women who married into their own ethnic groups in the Western Zhou Dynasty to preside over the Zongmiao, but also provide new information for the discussion of the identity, role and status of women in the Zhou Dynasty in the sacrifice. In addition, the Jia Wei chimes unearthed in the jujube forest cemetery in Suizhou, Hubei Province, in which a passage led by "Jia Wei Yue" tells a history of how Jia Wei governed the Zeng state and retained the country after her husband's early death, providing excellent evidence for studying the status of women and governing the country in the Zhou Dynasty. New materials often reveal historical facts that researchers have never covered in the past due to the limitations of literature. Taking marriage research as an example, there was less discussion on marriage in various countries during the Western Zhou Dynasty, while the political ideas and social systems of the two weeks were mostly born in the Western Zhou Dynasty, and the importance of information on the marriage relationship of the Western Zhou Dynasty is self-evident (Liu Li, "Research on the Marriage Relationship of the Princes in the Two-Week Period", Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, 2019). A large number of newly unearthed Western Zhou bronzes fill this gap, so that the research can establish a broader spatial and temporal framework. However, it should be noted that the use of new data, especially archaeology, requires the cooperation of the two disciplines of history and archaeology. Archaeologists provide as much information as possible on artifacts and scientifically rigorous excavation reports, while historians try to provide as solid and credible textual interpretations and textual analysis as possible. In this way, scholars can comprehensively use all aspects of new materials to carry out extensive and in-depth research.
2. Expand the field of view and conversion angle. In terms of research horizon and perspective, the research results summarized by future generations based on historical materials can provide reference for the study of women's history in Shang and Zhou. For example, research on women's economic life, property rights, ideological concepts, aesthetic awareness, emotional world, educational culture, spiritual outlook, disease treatment, gender image, as well as children's history and daily life history and other emerging fields, as well as research on the situation of civilian women, and research on the microhistory of individual women. Different perspectives can prompt us to re-examine and re-examine relevant materials, so as to uncover information and problems that have been overlooked by previous researchers, and make up for the limitations of unevenness and singularity in previous research. Dong Yu et al., "Bioarchaeological Evidence for the Institutionalization of the Inferiority of Men and Women in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty" (Oriental Archaeology, 16th Series, 2019), starting from a variety of bioarchaeological evidence such as stable isotopes and paleopathology, pointed out that the civilian women in the cemeteries of Xinzhengsias and Changxinyuan were treated poorly by their parents from an early age, ate more C3 foods (most likely wheat), ate less meat, and developed more anemia; In adulthood, women still eat more C3 foods, which were not popular at the time. This suggests that the inferiority of men and women in the Xinzheng region during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty may have been institutionalized. This thinking not only affects the family and social status of the sexes in adulthood, but also treats boys and girls differently from childhood. Although similar evidence from other contemporaries is lacking, this paper's unique perspective provides new ideas for studying the dietary structure and health status of common men and women during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty.
However, it should be noted that some fields are difficult to study for Shang Zhou, which lacks historical materials, so for the study of Shang Zhou women's history, it is more important to start from its own historical material construction and basic thematic research, and on this basis, absorb and learn from other theoretical methods and research perspectives.
In fact, changing perspectives does not mean that you have to pursue some new fields or topics. Refocusing on some of the fundamental and important issues of women's history is also a shift in perspective. With increasingly frequent international exchanges in modern society, new theories, new materials and new views emerge one after another, and the pursuit of novelty has increasingly become the pursuit direction of many scholars, especially young scholars. This is understandable, it is actually very beneficial to the development and construction of the discipline, and it is worthy of praise. But while we are getting the new, we must not forget the old. This "old" refers to some basic and important issues in women's history. These questions are important for understanding ancient Chinese society, some of which have not yet been solved, and some of which will lead to new understandings arising from the emergence of new materials. Again, taking marriage studies as an example, the importance of marriage in women's history or in the study of ancient history as a whole is self-evident, however, although this is a relatively well-researched field, there is still a lot to explore. For example, discussing geopolitical marriage from the perspective of geopolitical politics and ethnic relations, which scholars have paid more attention to in recent years, can have a deeper understanding of the role and impact of marriage in the political situation and the formation of a unified multinational state. Chen Zhaorong and Maria Khayutina have a series of discussion articles (see Liu Li, "A Study of the Political Marriage of Two Princely States in One Hundred Years", Trends in Chinese History Research, No. 5, 2017). Recently, Sun Yan's "Father's Family and Husband's Family: From the Tomb of Bi Ji in Hengshui, Shanxi Province on the Identity Construction and Cultural Identity of Noble Women in the Western Zhou Dynasty" (Bronzes and Golden Texts, 8th Series, Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, 2022) takes the Bi Ji tomb M1 unearthed from the Hengshui Qi's cemetery in Jiangxi County, Shanxi as an example, and discusses how the Yan clan constructs the identity and cultural identity of this noble woman - the daughter of the Bi family and the wife of the uncle through the burial system. and reflects the power relationship between the Yi clan and the Western Zhou royal family and other clans at that time.
3. Pay attention to the excavation of the source. If the study of women's history in Shang Zhou can make any contribution to the study of women's history in later generations, it is the most important thing is the excavation of the source, which is also the greatest significance and value. The pre-Qin dynasty was the source of China's historical development, and many systems, ideas, and cultures originated from it. Therefore, in the study of women's history in Shang Zhou, it is necessary to pay attention to the study of the source. For example, deepen the research on the relevant systems and phenomena of Chinese women, strengthen the investigation of gender roles and gender ideological formation and changes in the pre-Qin period, and provide reference for the study of women's history after the Qin and Han dynasties. Wang Zijin and Zhang Jing's General History of Chinese Women: Pre-Qin Scrolls (Hangzhou Publishing House, 2010) covers women's political status, production and life, religious beliefs, ideological concepts, daily life, wedding customs, education and culture in the pre-Qin period, providing rich information for source exploration